Eagle Byzantium

Poor Alexios!

Originally, he had great ambitions and planned to mobilize the fleets in the fortress in the waters of the imperial capital to lift the blockade on the sea of ​​Alamein Fort. However, after calming down and calculating, the emperor sadly admitted that the number of fleets he currently controls is really very small. , unless he discards the entire In order to help the Kallegos family with the maritime defense of the capital, he also had to allow his fleet to bypass almost the entire Holy Sea coast in western Asia Minor. Such expenses, together with 20,000 soldiers, made the emperor feel as if money was being invested. A melting pot of heartache.

After all, the emperor's military system is different from Gawain's.

Gawain set up six official offices in Seleucia and owned a quarter of the spoils. At first glance, it was no different from other countries, but its biggest advantage was that it directly controlled the most basic farming population through land registration and household registration. Whether they are indigenous people or immigrants, in this case, the final ownership and supervision of all the output of the entire Seleucia and Sicily land is firmly controlled by the high government. In the hands of Wen Wen, he then divided the interests in various forms, cut the "cake" into pieces and sent them to various teams such as the heavy cavalry, the evangelical cavalry, and the infantry of the three-winged brigade, plus almost no use of them at all. The financial burden of the "Garrisons" and "Jinat" was so high that although Gawain only ruled hundreds of thousands of people on the surface, he was able to mobilize nearly 20,000 mobilization troops to fight at critical moments.

As for the emperor, he said nothing. Alexios felt bitter in his heart. To use the above analogy: the emperor is not the one who divides the cake, but wants to grab the cake with other nobles of the empire... So now for In order to increase the revenue of the treasury, the emperor also had to risk offending the religious community by sending a large number of "secular patrons" (mostly royal family members and dignitaries personally appointed by the emperor) to reside in various Orthodox temples in order to collect more taxes. He also had to spend his own money from the Imperial Property Department to organize refugees to reclaim the Thessaly and Moria plains to increase grain taxes. In external wars, the emperor also relied on the Varangian Guards and the internal cavalry in the imperial capital as the core, plus a large number of temporarily hired light cavalry from various ethnic groups. Except for long-term contract workers, they were short-term contract workers. Once the horses' hooves flipped, the sails would rise. From then on, huge sums of money began to be invested into the bottomless pit instantly. Therefore, for Alexios, if the army cannot gain benefits from the expedition, that is, if the army goes to war without success, it is almost the same as a military disaster. events.

Therefore, based on all the above, it is not without reason that the emperor retreated before the battle. He was still determined to win when the wind was going smoothly. After Gawain showed off the powerful "Grand Plani Cannon" and destroyed the waterwheel and the earth embankment that the emperor had worked so hard to mobilize, Alexios's fighting spirit immediately evaporated in the late summer heat. , and started his famous skill of "pretending to paddle hard" again. This row, first rowed from Brusa to Alamein, and then rowed back to Nicaea...

However, the emperor's military system also has its advantages, that is, mercenaries who are eager to receive military pay are still willing to follow His Majesty the Emperor as long as they do not encounter fierce battles and do not go on arduous expeditions. And once he wins, the emperor only needs to give a small part of the income to most people in cash and dismiss them.

And Gawain's military system also has its flaws, that is, the peasants' desire for land and the soldiers' desire for equipment (dazzling armor and horse gear) and wealth and glory will become increasingly fierce with victory, and Gawain wants to expand the army or for the army. of stability, also It must continue to expand, just like a shark that is constantly hunting in the sea. It must swim and swim at any time, opening its bloody mouth to devour. Once it is stuck on the reef, this overlord in the water can only roll its eyes and wave. Holding the tail and waiting for the end.

Therefore, Gawain seemed to be very relaxed during the siege of Alamein Castle, but in fact he was walking on thin ice. He often sent emissaries back to Seleucia City to consult Anna's thoughts and opinions. While quickly organizing the war, he was also meticulous in conducting diplomacy and intelligence. Struggle, in these days of heavy burden, the gentle service of the Holy Sister became the best way for him to relieve the pressure.

Now all the battles have come to an end with the arrival of the Weinmoha fleet, both for Gawain and the emperor, especially for the miserable Kallegos family.

"After the victory of this siege, you pirates will share one-fourth of the spoils, the same as my soldiers." This was Gawain's promise in advance. At that time, the Battle of Antioch City had just ended.

"But how can a place like Alamein Fort have as much wealth as the city-states on the Levant coast?" In fact, Wen Moha initially refused.

However, Gawain was not angry. He said to Wenmoha, "From now on, the pilgrims will sweep across the Levant in an unstoppable manner, but for various lords, the fleet will always be provided by those powerful Italian states. Where is your place to intervene? Why not sign a long-term offensive and defensive alliance with me? In Asia Minor, you will act alone, and in the Levant, you will act jointly with the Amalfi fleet, which is closely related to me. Sooner or later, you will get the maximum. Benefit.”

So in the end, Wen Moha, who was shaken, agreed to Gao Wenhai's request for assistance. On the sea outside the water gate and dock of Alamein Castle, all the pirates and Seleucia's galleys lined up and dropped their anchors. Then all the pirate sailors made all kinds of terrifying noises and crowded onto the deck to face Along one side of the castle, various small cannons and crossbows were set up, raining down arrows and stone pellets against the water wall, and tightly sealing the internal and external passages.

But in fact, it didn't make much difference whether it was sealed or not, because no one could or was willing to deliver food to Fort Alaman.

About four days later, Nika Calegos ordered the residents to be driven out of the city in an attempt to save food. The residents, crying loudly, were driven out of the city gate in groups, about fifty people, and then they were shot by the Seleucid militia at the blockade trench. They couldn't run back to the city, and almost all of them were killed. Most of the bodies fell into the trench and no one collected them.

The next day, Gawain denounced the militia leader who ordered the archery yesterday, stripped him of his armor, and whipped him with twenty whips, and fined him one hundred saffron copper coins. Then Gawain sent the deputy herald, Light, to lead the trumpet and flag to the city again, "Our army is willing to bury all the civilians who were killed by mistake yesterday. In addition, the emperor has reached a peace agreement with the Grand Duke and retreated. It is useless to defend the isolated castle any longer. It is better to surrender as soon as possible."

In the city, along the upward steps and battlements, all the soldiers and residents sat or lay down, silently watching a sedan chair carried out from the central tower, on which sat the emaciated blind general Nika Calegos, and watched it being carried to the top of the city.

"It's the voice of Light Bozia!" On the top of the city, Nika immediately recognized the voice of the "old friend".

"General, you have a good memory. I didn't expect that we would meet here again." Wright always looked harmless. He held the scroll in his hand and bowed to the old general. (To be continued ~^~)